A Grain of Sand
by Superfan8
Summary: Insulting a dwarf hadn't been the smartest thing Harry has ever done. Cursed, he wakes up after his death as Harry Potter in a short and stout body. Living in an alien world Harry has to adjust to his new body, stupid and crazy traditions, and all the while he has to deal with having the sole attention of the King under the Mountain. Slash.
1. Chapter 1

Somehow, he couldn't exactly remember what drove him to do it. Harry had made a terrible, horrible stupid mistake.

With him being famous for his courage, good heart, and his ability to be compassionate towards all beings how could it have come to this?

He was known all over the magical world for being the most courageous wizard of all times. People and creatures alike wanted to thank him and honour him and Harry, who had never disappointed or turned anyone down, wouldn't even deny them this.

Harry was a humble man, he modestly received the gratitude from the magical folks but never wanted to stand in the spotlight. He would turn up to special events, made in his honour, and gratefully thank the people who applauded him, he would kiss the new-born babes and shake every extended hand.

But in the end even the most patient person would have had enough.

It happened on a stupid and terrible day, the great Harry Potter, The Boy Who Live, lost his control. It just so unfortunately occurred that he directed his anger towards a particle innocent bystander. Many years in the future, it would later be known to have been a very stupid decision.

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After Voldemort's defeat Harry had experience great personal success in his life, he felt freer than ever before. He didn't have a murderer hunting after his cold dead body, he didn't have Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, The Ministry, and his relatives telling him what to do, where to go or not to be.

Without the constant stress, Voldemort had provided, Harry had new energy, both physically and mentally, to study, sleep, eat, and live.

"Harry Potter, you have after the breakup to Ginny Weasley been named the most desired bachelor in the wizard community of Britain, but how do you coped with being replace at Ginny Weasley's arm with a tally more masculine man? Do you feel a blow to your male pride or do your money, fame and fans make up for the loss?"

The press was the only enemy he had left but the Daily Prophet had even throughout his time at Hogwarts tried to make his life a living hell. The journalists' comments were biting, harsh and downright full of spite, they wanted a reaction, something to pin on him, a flaw.

It was tough but that was life, the wizarding population wanted to know all about their saviour and the media picked up on that.

All Harry wanted was a peaceful life and he didn't like discussing his private matters so the media had difficulties delivering information on demand, it was only natural that they grew aggressive.

Harry had often when presented to the press been questioned on his masculinity and his sexuality, because of his lither body.

In his earlier years at Hogwarts this hadn't been a problem he had always believed he would grow higher and thicker like his father but as the years move on and he came into adulthood it would appear that it was not meant to be.

He was small and thin some would even say that the perfect way to describe him was petit and pretty.

Seeing the guys from his Hogwarts years grow into adulthood, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Ron, hell even Malfoy could be seen as great specimens of the ideal man while he just looked like a bloody girl! As a principle he kept his hair short he wouldn't have nobody mistaking him for a girl.

Whether he looked like a girl or not women still wanted him for his money and fame so did the men but for the men there was a bonus in catching him. The thought of dominating Harry Potter in bed was beyond appealing to many men and the idea of conquering the powerful wizard's lithe body was and erotic thought.

Harry didn't even try searching for love outside his friends and acquaintances from Hogwarts.

At the beginning of his horcrux hunt he loved Ginny and at the end of the final battle he still loved Ginny. He tried to settle for Ginny but it soon became obvious for Harry in the beginning of their relationship that his feelings didn't go beyond friendship.

For a while he pretended that everything was okay but Ginny had never been stupid and was known by the professors of Hogwarts for being a bright talented witch so she wasn't fooled for long.

Ginny chose to keep up appearance as Harry's sweetheart for Harry's sake and in the hope that his feelings for her would be ignited.

Their pretend relationship had dulled the rumours of Harry being a homosexual but his feelings for Ginny never ignited and the relationship fell apart after five years.

After the breakup the reporters were back with the taste of blood and questions sprang anew.

"Mister Potter, do you think you are to blame for the ruined relationship between yourself and Ginevra because you weren't man enough for the job?"

"Are you traumatized after the war with feelings of being hunted, would it not be easier admitting your need for another man's protection?"

As you can imagine Harry soon became tired and irritated by these annoying silly questions to a point he didn't even bother denying their accusations.

But on a day of his 24 year of life he made the mistake.

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Harry can scarcely recall what happened that night. He remembered that he was invited to the yearly annual party to celebrate the victory of the war. He had received his invitation by owl a month before the party was to take place. As was tradition that every magical being was invited to take share in the celebration of Voldemort's demise.

The clean smell in the air was a scent he was rather familiar with and the first indicator that he was in the hospital.

Blinking and trying to open his eyes Harry felt the tiny corns of sand stick to his eyelashes. Blinking some more he finally saw the bright well light white hospital room. Hermione's worried face came into view and he opened his mouth ready to ask what had happened and why he was here when Hermione beat him to it.

"Harry, are you alright? We were all so worried when you went out cold, how do feel?" Hermione didn't even wait for a replay before she hugged the life out of him and concerned stroke his forehead.

Being unable to move his face and do much in his sitting position while Hermione continue to hug him Harry turned his questionable eyes towards Ron.

"Don't you remember what happened mate?

At the party though he could recall standing in the ballroom trying to avoid being cornered by Rita Skeeter but was unsuccessful. He couldn't for the life of him remember what was said between them but suddenly… "I remember now, the dwarf".

Trying to sit up straighter he pried Hermione of off him. "What happened to him?" He continue

"Don't worry Harry, the aurors took him into custody for attacking you" Hermione elaborated

'Really, attacking me?' All Harry could remember was the dwarf angrily throwing sand in his face. While the sand hurt and prickled like tiny needles and the taste of sand in his mouth was awful it wasn't the worst or most dangerous of attacks. Also he went out cold after a few seconds, he hardly felt a thing.

"No, it wasn't his fault I insulted him and his race I would have attacked me to for the things I said. I have to sort this mess out before everything is blow out of proportion." Harry explained while he was trying to free himself from the bedding.

"Harry, you have to relax. You can't just run of yet." Said Hermione as Ron lay a big calming hand on his shoulder. "Relax mate, while the healers haven't found anything wrong with you they aren't completed sure as to why you fainted. They don't want to release you until they know that you are out of danger of a lasting spell or curse."

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Harry spent three days in St. Mungo's before he was release by the healers who still couldn't find anything wrong with him.

He spent his days trying to contact the dwarf he insulted so he could apologize and clarify that he bear no ill will towards dwarves and his words of slight was spoken in anger. His invitations to talk were turned away but he insured that the dwarf was release from the aurors custody and cleared of all charges.

His time in the hospital was pleasant and he enjoyed talking with the many different healers who came to check on him.

The healers at St. Mungo's wanted to be absolutely sure that there was nothing wrong with their hero so Harry was checked for all sort of things and he couldn't help but become interested in the field of healing.  
>After he was released from the hospital he pursued the art of healing and became though the years a very accomplice doctor.<p>

Harry's life went back to normal. He lived together with Kreacher at Grimmauld Place and worked at St. Mungo's as a heard healer.

He attended Hermione and Ron weeding and become the godfather to their many kids. He stood at Teddy's side when he first boarded the train to Hogwarts. Over the years he and Malfoy came to settle their differences and he supported Ginny and her team the Holyhead Harpies at every quidditch match.

When Harry died he was surrounded by those he considered family and he was happy.

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Somehow Harry always ended up being the person the universe made a joke of.

He had lived most of his grown life without an incident and he almost believed that he wasn't that unfortunate anymore. Ha, what a joke and a really funny one. Of course his curse of being a trouble magnet wouldn't dissolve.

How else could he explain his current situation?

Here he was in the body of a dwarf.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note**  
>I want to thank for all the favs and follows you have given me. I'm beyond happy about all the support I have received and I want to give my special thanks to Not-Gonna-Update, JJFicFreak and the two guests who took the time to leave a review. That made me really happy!<br>I'm sorry about any spelling mistakes you may find, I'm still looking for a beta, is anyone interested?  
>I hope this chapter wont disappoint, please let me know what you think!<p>

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><p>Harry knew the moment he regained consciousness that something was wrong.<p>

He could feel soft earth underneath him, moulded to fit his body perfectly and he could hear the soft chime of bird song.

Why would this feel wrong?

But Harry knew with every intake of breath that he was very much alive and this wasn't the afterlife he had hoped for.

He was supposed to pass on, after all, the third time is the charm, but as Harry flicker his eyes open, he was hit with tiny specks of sand in his eyeballs.

Pinching his eyes shut, he moved his upper body in and upright position. Blinking, while willing his eyes to shed tears he saw his first blurred view of his current location.

A few meters away Harry could see the beginning of a forest. The treeline came together by big, almost leafless trees. Following the line of trees with his eyes first left, then right, he could see no end.

With the sand now gone from his eyes Harry turned around and saw barren ground and thick fog shielding the view to the east, where Harry could see rays of sunshine coming through the damp morning fog.

Having looked around, Harry was no closer to finding out where he was. He was not going to sit around but he knew that he could not call on his magic to help him. The normal calming present of his magic flowing beneath his skin, was not there anymore.

Feeling like crying for real this time, Harry took several deep calming breaths. Yes, he was all alone and yes, his magic, the thing he came to love and cherish the most, was out of his reach but he was still Harry Potter and he would not cry.

Even with his mind made up, tiny tears still escape down his cheeks. Harry laughed pitifully, "what is wrong with me? I feel like a hormonal teenager girl". It had been a long time since Harry had to go through the uncomfortable teenager years and as he was now hundred and twenty years old, he hardly felt like it was right to have a fit.

Taking his right hand to his face to wipe away the tears, Harry stopped short at the look of his hand. Stretching his arms in front of him, he could see that he still had ten fingers and two hands but these weren't his.

Harry's hands were normally small with slender long fingers. These hands in front of him were still small but the fingers were thicker and the skin a lot tougher.

Tracing himself with foreign hands, while looking dawn his new form, Harry came to the conclusion that he was in a strangers body.

His nose was bigger, his thighs thicker and he was short. Running his new hand through his hair, he found it waist long and silky smooth. Apart from his slightly bigger nose, he assumed his face looked the same with his small ears and high cheekbones on a slim face.

His arms were shorter and they had a thin even layer of soft hair over them. Looking down at his legs, he discovered that they to possessed a layer of hair.

Harry was actually happy about this new discovery, as he never had the ability of producing body hair in his old body.

Looking down on his bare feet, he was surprised to discover that his feet had become even smaller than before.

His toes were slightly red from the cold ground and he desperately wanted a pair of shoes along with some pants, since a long green tunic was the only clothes on his body.

Reaching down to grasp the end of the tunic, he pulled the material up to have a final look at himself. He still had his rosy pink nipples and slim pretty cock. He was still thin with a small waist but he had gained a healthier and curvier body with prominent hips.

He felt younger, his skin was smooth and young and his hair was raven black. Before he had died, he had obtained a few wrinkles and laugh lines along with a couple of grey hairs. This new body was young.

Feeling his feet getting colder, Harry glance back towards the forest, should he look for help between the trees?

Harry was reminded of the Forbidden Forest outside of Hogwarts. But through, this gloomy forest had an air of familiarity his body shuddered at the thought of going in between the trees.

Harry would say that like a bird knew how to fly, his body knew that he would not thieve in the forest and thus he turned his body towards east, in hope of finding help.

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After walking around in the fog, in what Harry assumed was three hours, the fog finally cleared. He hadn't met anyone or spotted anything that showed signs of civilisation.

But with the fog finally gone Harry could spot what he unconsciously had been heading towards all this time.

In the far distance, he could see a mountain and having lived all his life in the UK, he was awestruck by the sight. The sheer height and mass, it looked so close and yet so far away.

It was beautiful.

Harry knew that he wouldn't get there by nightfall and he was slowly loosing hope of finding help before the dark fell over the sky.  
>The morning had been cold, so he assumed that the night would be cold as well and he had neither warm clothes nor the means to light a fire.<p>

If it came down to it and he had not found help before the sun came down, he could survive through the cold night. He could feel his young body brimming with energy and he felt no strain after the many hours of walking.

After sunset Harry kept walking and he tipped his head back many times to look at the unfamiliar starlight sky.

His feet were ice cold but Harry couldn't will himself to stop in the middle of the barren field for sleep and rest. He would feel vulnerable without some cover to protect him.

Further ahead he spotted a giant stone with a few surrounding dried bushed. Happy at the thought of resting his cold feet, Harry hurried ahead but stopped short at the sight of light coming from behind the stone.

Threading quietly forward Harry could hear two males voice talking. They sounded friendly as the both spoke with light voices and a laugh or two were shared between them.

He did not get the chance to make himself known to the company, before he was stopped by the presence of blade pressed against his lower back. By reflex Harry flickered his wrist but his hand remained empty.

Silently cursing his luck for being defenceless against and armoured fore, he slowly raised his hands into the air to show that he was defenceless, as the stranger at his back spoke. "Run little assassin and I run you through with my blade."

Everything was quiet, even the light conversation from behind the stone had stopped, instead there were two curious faces poked out to look directly at Harry.

They didn't look unfriendly, in fact they gave of a homely feeling like mrs. Weasley, one of the men even wore the most ridiculous hat Harry had ever seen. With that said, it had to be true, as he had seen many weird hats in his life as a wizard.

"No need to be so serious with the lad, Sanix", the one with the silly hat spoke, "I hardly think an assassin would come against us defenceless."

"Let me be the one to decide what he is Bofur, after all you are the toymaker and I'm the warrior, there is a reason I came along on this trip." The one behind him, Sanix said, as he now lightly tapped the blade against Harry's side, "let us move into the light."

Stepping into the camp and coming closer to the fire, Harry could not help but sign out in light pleasure as the fire warmed his cold toes.

"Now, would you care to explain who you are and what you are doing out here on your own?" it was Bofur who asked and Harry lightly turned around to face all of the three men… dwarves.

Revelation dawned on Harry. They were dwarves, he was a dwarf that explained his new short, hair covered body. With thoughts running through his head Harry failed to answer the question but the three dwarves hardly noticed Harry's hesitation, for they were in awe of the sight before them.

Never before had they seen a creature this beautiful, for before them stood the Maker's perfect creation with marble white skin, a face carved and caressed by the Maker's tender touch, arms and legs filled with soft hair that their hands were eager to run over. When their eyes graced his hair they wanted nothing more than to plait their family signature braids and beads into the black locks. His two small hands were not made for the harsh work of mining but for holder and caring for young ones. He stood on two perfect formed feet and the three dwarves only dared a quick look, but even just an eyeful, had their ears turning red. Finally the eyes, those green emeralds shone in the firelight brighter than any gem.

Closing his mouth, which had hung open all this time, Harry finally gathered himself enough to answer, after all he had to make the best out of his situation, so he could worry about his problems later.

"I'm sorry for sneaking up on you, I had no ill intentions. My name is Harry, I do not know where I'm and how I came to be here, I was just looking for help."

"You are by the very foot of Erebor, how can you be lost?" The dwarf who had not spoken before asked.

"I'm not familiar with this place, I just woke up today, all alone, and I'm freezing, hungry, afraid and tired of not knowing where I'm." Harry said, not really knowing how to explain his situation. He could even feel the beginnings of tears forming in his eyes, he suddenly had the urge to sit down, crying.

"Well, why don't we all sit down by the fire so we can start fixing all of those problems for yer. I'm Bofur, at yer service." Sitting down Bofur indicated to the dwarf next to himself to continue the introductions. He introduced himself as Bifur, Bofur's cousin. The last dwarf went by the name Sanix son of Filix.

Harry was handed a thick blanket and some pants by Bifur, while Sanix was working on filling a bowl with the stew they had hanging over the fire.

After having pulled the too big pants over his legs Harry took the bowl of steaming stew from Sanix's hands with a grateful smile, one Sanix could not help but return. This in turn made Harry smile even more, feeling accepted by the company of three, who were no longer suspicious of him.

Happy for the first time today, Harry brought the bowl closer to his face to avoid spilling on his borrowed clothes, sticking his feet out from under the blanket, laying them near the hot flames, he started eating. Delighted by the taste, he looked up from his meal to complement his companions on their delicious stew but stopped himself, when he saw that their attention was fixed on something behind him.

Turning to look over his shoulder he could see nothing of noteworthy interest. Turning his head back he could not help but ask "what is it you are looking at?"

Harry noted that the three dwarves looked nervously at each other. He felt like, he did, when babysitting his godchildren and having caught them doing something they ought not to do. What had he missed while eating?

He had to ask. "What is going on?"

It was Bofur who answered him, "Well lad, when we are presented with such a pair of feet it is only understandable that we do not want to stare and shame you."

Harry was completely lost, he felt like the three other dwarves where talking a complete different languages even though he understood Bifur's and Sanix's mumblings of "We did not mean to look" and "we are sorry", while avoiding looking at him.

"What is wrong with my feet, they are just feet. I can understand that they are dirty right now but I honestly cannot understand what all the fuss is about. I want you to be frank with me."

Harry waited patiently for an answer, while wriggling his lightly roasted toes.

Bifur finally meet Harry's eyes and Harry could see that he was confused by Harry's statement. "You do not know? How old are you?"

Deciding to humour them, even though he could not see the relevance of the question, he spoke the truth "I'm a hundred and twenty now." "Bless the Maker" Bofur exclaimed, "You are young alright, but at that age you should know better than to dangle your feet around strangers."

"What are you all going on about? Bifur, please explain what it is I'm missing" Harry turned his question towards the only dwarf who seemed to understand that Harry honestly did not know, what was going on.

"Feet are particularly significant to the dwarven race, it is what carries us around all our life. We would not be able to fight, mine, and carve a life without them. That is why we only show our feet to our significant other, who we choose to walk together with, on the path of life."

Pulling his feet under the blanket, Harry asked "Then, do you always have your feet covered? What about walking around barefooted in the summer? What about the children?"

"How can you not know of this?" Bofur asked.

"I do not know anything about being a dwarf, I'm just Harry."

"To answer your earlier question, then yes, we cover our feet in public, even in the company of family. It is only in the solitude of our room we shed over shoes and mostly it only happens when we bathe or go to sleep. When a dwarf is born, the mother and father cover and wash the baby's feet until the child is old enough to do so themselves." Sanix said all this while keeping eye contact with Harry and Harry understood that Sanix wanted him to know that this was no light topic.

Harry looked at the three dwarves, hoping he had not ruined the opportunity of friendship between the first people he had met in this new world. "I deeply apologize for showing my feet so casually but you have to believe me when I say that I did so without the knowledge I now have. Please forgive me, if I have offended any of you."

"If anyone should apologize it should be us, we had no right to gaze upon your feet but did so anyway even though we knew it was not in our rights to do so." Harry could see and hear the shame Bifur felt as he spoke this to Harry.

"I could not be angry at you, for you have given me clothes, food, and company in a time where I most needed it, thank you."

"If you look at it like that, we have to thank you as well for the wonderful show you put on earlier." Bofur was only too happy to make a joke of this. "Feet holds a certain sexual appeal to us and after a long day of walking through Mirkwood, we certainly deserve such a reward, thank you Harry" Bofur ended his rant by winking at Harry.

Bifur stood up and started running after a laughing Bofur, shouting that he would defend Harry's honour against his vile brother. Without knowing it, Harry had put on a sexual display but his embarrassment was forgotten with the good mood in the camp and he could not help but smile and laugh.

Having settled their misunderstanding the dwarves wanted to hear Harry's tale, so he told them how he woke up in front of the forest, he then came to know as Mirkwood, and how he wandered about. In turn the dwarves told about their day in Mirkwood, how Bofur was in need of different sorts of wood to make children's toys, that he needed help to collect and carry the word, which was why Bifur and Sanix had joined him.

Harry was surprised to learn that there were elves in the forest he saw earlier this day and that the three dwarves in front of him showed great dislike towards them. He was entertained by their tale but he would very much like to meet an elf, even though Bofur, Bifur and Sanix had expressed their joy in not meeting any, in their trip through the forest.

After some more light conversation Harry was about to lie down for today, Bifur had already given him his pillow as he would not need it for his guard duty. Harry laid his head against the pillow, thoughts of today running through his head and he could not help but ask.

"You did not seem shocked about my age, can I ask how old you three are?"

"Well, Bofur and me are pushing around two hundred while Bifur is around the two fifty" Sanix replayed. "Now that you are over the hundred you are in an ideal age to marriage"

"Are any of you married?" He asked then.

"I have the most lovely dwarrowdam waiting for me back home" Bifur said, from his place against the big rock. "But those too knuckleheads here Harry, aren't that lucked."

"How come? I have not met many dwarves but I know that anyone would be lucky to have you"

"Dwarves don't marry on a whim, we marry for life and we are picky in our choice for a life partner" Bofur smiled brightly at Harry while saying this. "You really do not know anything about being a dwarf, do you?"

Suddenly nervous about being here, in this strange new place, meeting new people, would he even fit in, Harry turned his eyes away mumbling, "not at all."

"Yer nervous." Bofur had immediately known by his hunched shoulder. "Yer have nothing to worry about Harry. We won't leave you at the entrance of Erebor, we will get you settled and show you the ropes"

"Of that you can be sure," Sanix continued. "We will make a fine dwarf of you, my friend."

Calmed, Harry went to sleep, dreaming of what tomorrow would bring.

Asleep Harry did not see the three dwarves staring at him as they all share the same thought, he would not need any help to be well liked among their people.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Note**

I'm an incredible lucky person to have you guys. I want to thank those who will continue to support my story and of course those who start to support me. It's all an author could wish for.  
>I give my special thanks to; Newerher3, Not-Gonna-Update, LazyBrat, SlashAddict4Life, Bloody Gale Reaper, xfireflyskyx, Zlatka, silvermane1, JJFicFreak, Through the Mirror Darkly, Katsy17, Mmeggy999, lovelycrazy,Yazziyou's Daydreamer, Melikalilly and Marie Wolfschoon for giving me wonderful feedback.<p>

Lots of love to my wonderful new beta Laurafxox!  
>Enjoy reading!<p>

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><p>Harry opened his eyes and looked to Bofur who was lightly shaking him awake.<p>

"Good morning Harry, did you sleep alright?" Bofur asked as he handed Harry a bowl of steaming stew from the dinner last night.

With the bowl in hand Harry sat up to eat as Sanix and Bifur were already digging into their own meal. The three dwarves had let Harry sleep while they cleaned up and packed their bags, so they could move on after the meal. Harry didn't know how they had accomplished moving around camp without waking him, after all, he had always been a very light sleeper. Not that it mattered; Harry was grateful for their effort so he could get a few extra minutes of sleep.

"Yes, I had a pleasant sleep. I wasn't exactly sleeping on a bed fit for a princess but I felt comfortable being close to the earth."

"You may not know much about being a dwarf but you certainly got the instincts of one. All dwarves are attracted to earth and stone, we like it best with our feet on the ground," Sanix said, causing Harry to turn to him.

"Oh, but I love flying. Have none of you ever wanted to fly?" Harry couldn't help but say.

"I have never seen the reason why. We are not made for flying. This is the will of our great Maker; he made us for the stone and earth."

"I think you have to take back your words Sanix," Bofur was only too happy to point Sanix's misplaced words of praise out, however insignificant the praise may have been. Sanix turned to Bofur and Harry was sure that Bofur's hat would catch fire any moment with the intensity of the glare. Bifur could only shake his head at his cousin's actions and direct his attention towards Harry.

"How did you come to fly?"

Harry wanted to smack himself. How could he have been so careless? It surely wouldn't help to say that he flew around on a broomstick. Way to go Harry Bloody Potter. Harry hated to lie especially when Bofur, Bifur and Sanix had showed him such honesty and kindness but he saw no other way around it.

"I haven't really tried it before, it has only really happened in my dreams. But I love the feeling and I would be most happy to try it for real one day," Harry explained. Bofur sat his bowl aside and started cleaning it with sand, along with the empty pot.

"It's possible but highly unlikely you will ever get the chance. There aren't that many options and since most winged creatures are hostile minded I would advise against it."

"What kind of creatures are there? Do you live together with some of them?" Harry questioned. Bifur handed his bowl to Bofur and went to his backpack where he started looking between his fabrics in search for something.

"We dwarves live by ourselves in Erebor and other great dwarven kingdoms, quite like the humans and elves do. We do trade and bargain but we are otherwise divided. As for winged creatures I can only mention fell beasts, eagles and dragons, though dragons and fell beasts haven't been spotted for centuries now," Bifur answered the younger dwarf.

Harry was saddened to hear that the species of this world lived indifferently towards each other, like in the wizarding world. He knew only too well what the isolation of species could result in; hate, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Something that Harry could already see caused problems between the dwarves and elves of this land.

Bifur had found what he had been searching for as he pulled some brown cloth from his bag and came towards Harry with it.

"Also, out of those three beasts I would say that you would most likely get a ride on those haughty eagles,"

Bifur stopped before Harry and held out the cloth for him. "Here, you will have to tie these around your feet. Sadly, we don't have any extra shoes with us and you will have to wait to we get to Dale before we can purchase any for you."

"I don't have any money," Harry said, taking the two pieces of cloth from Bifur's hands and handing his empty bowl back. He then turned his back to the company so he could pull his feet out from under the blanket he still had around him.

Struggling with binding the cloth together at his ankles, the three dwarves finished packing and hoisted their bags onto their shoulders ready to go. With his feet now covered Harry gathered the blanket, going towards the other dwarves who were looking towards Erebor. Sanix held his hand out as Harry come closer.

"I will carry your blanket. You needn't worry about the money for the shoes. It will be a gift from all of us," Harry hesitantly handed the blanket to Sanix. He felt bad about letting the dwarves carry all the bags when he could help them.

"Thank you, I will pay you back of course when I have the money. I'll take some of your bags, it's the least I could do," Harry offered.

"Ahh, you don't need to carry a thing Harry."

"No, I insist," Harry took the bundle of wooden branches from Bofur's hands, hoisted it over his shoulders and started walking towards the mountain before the dwarves could stop him. Bofur came up to his side smiling as always.

"Well if you insist, I can hardly find it in myself to stop you. However, I have to say that we will not take any money from you. You don't know this of course, but if you gave us money from a gift, it would be a terrible insult to us."

"None the less," Bifur said as he and Sanix came up beside them, "you will have to find a job when we get to the mountain, any ideas?"

"I have some knowledge and skill at healing, would that be of any use?" Harry shrugged. Bofur's smile got positively wider.

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Harry. If you worked in the Hall of Healing people all over Erebor would suddenly get into bizarre accidents every day. Then you wouldn't have time for little old me."

"I wouldn't blame him for wanting to work there now cousin, just to get away from you," Bifur joked. Sanix gave a short laugh in agreement.

"Other than to avoid my cousin, I think the Hall of Healing would be a good place for you to find work. They are always short of staff since the art of healing isn't a favourable craft for dwarves. You would be welcomed there."

On the way to Dale, Harry learned that this world was filled with other magical creatures. They had orcs, goblins, trolls, wrags, balrogs, hobbits, fairies, ents, skin-changers. They even had wizards, but sadly there were only a few and he was not one of them. He was told about the cooperation between Dale, Erebor, and Mirkwood. That Erebor was the wealthiest and greatest of all the dwarven kingdoms and that Erebor had a king.

Harry was interested in the dwarven life at Erebor and the three dwarves were happy to talk about their lives. Bofur was the owner of a successful toyshop which was located in the shopping district. His cousin Bifur was also a toymaker and they ran the business together with their newly employed apprentice Khîm, who was currently in charge of the shop while they were gone. The two cousins lived at the same home together with Bofur's brother, Bombur, who was Head Chef in the royal kitchen.

Sanix had, for a long time, worked as a common guard standing at attention before the gates of Erebor, the market and shop districts, and going back and forth in Erebor's many halls. He had only very recently started rising in rank from a guard to a known fierce warrior. He was being trained under the great general of Erebor's army Dwalin, son of Fundin, whom Harry learned a fair deal about, since Sanix wouldn't stop taking about his idol.

Luckily Bifur and Bofur saved Harry from hearing more tales of Dwalin's great skill in battle by drawing him into a conversation about the importance of hair, braids, and beads. Harry had contemplated cutting his hair when he reached Erebor for he always kept his hair short but that idea seemed to go out the window. He would not want to make another spectacle, like the feet incident yesterday, and defiantly not in front of a whole mountain of dwarves. Dwarven hair took decades to grow and if your hair was cut it was a sign of great loss, shame or treachery.

::::::::::

They reached Dale a little after midday. When the group stepped through the open Eastern gate, Harry felt like he had when he walked through the hidden entrance to Diagon Alley for the first time with Hagrid. It was magical in its own unique way. People; men, dwarves, and elves alike filled the streets in their colourful clothes. Laughter was shared between friends, music was heard along with shouts from the salesmen who advertised their goods.

Harry would like to think that his own world could have looked like this once upon a time. This world didn't have cars or electricity, nor did they have wizards in the quantity he had known, but they were content and happy in a way Harry had not seen from the people in his world.

Blown away like a child in a candy store Harry walked around with the biggest smile on his face, captivated by all the things he saw. He completely missed the astonished looks from other dwarves who walked by.

Bofur burst out with laughter when one poor lad walked straight into a wall when he caught Harry's eye and was rewarded with a blinding smile. Harry didn't know how long he had walked around in his dreamy haze, but he was pushed out of it when Bifur took the lead.

"We are going this way. What do you think of Dale, Harry?" Bifur asked, guiding the dwarf in the right direction.

"It's absolutely brilliant." Harry replied in awe.

"Wait until you see Erebor it will make your heart sing."

Harry had never enjoyed shopping and he only bought what was strictly necessary. He knew he needed a pair of shoes before he could enter through Erebor's gates but shoe shopping with three other male dwarves proved to be one of his worst shopping experiences yet.

The shoemaker was a kind elderly man who presented himself as Thorsten. He was delighted to see dwarves in his shop for he had never made shoes for a dwarf before. He told Harry to sit and went to kneel before him to look at Harry's small bundled up feet. Harry could feel Sanix, Bifur, and Bofur freeze behind him when Thorsten took one of Harry's feet in his hand to unbind the cloth. Thorsten found himself thrown to the ground by two toymakers and a warrior, having only touched Harry's foot. The dwarves were raving mad, Sanix even had his sword out and Harry being Harry soon jumped into the fray to stop the madness.

After regaining some sense of order Harry made the three dunderheads apologize to poor Thorsten and asked them to wait outside the shop so that he could get his shoes, but they absolutely refused to leave his side. They were convinced that Harry would be taken advantage of because he didn't know their ways. It would be very improper to leave him alone. Thorsten had a difficult time assessing his shoe size since he couldn't touch nor look at his feet without the cloth on.

In the end Thorsten found a pair of old boots his son had grown out of years ago. The boots were much too wide around his calves but Thorsten fixed it quickly with a two leather straps which went around the calves to bind the boots tightly to his legs. The boots were comfortable around his feet and having thanked Thorsten while the three dwarves paid him the group exited the shop to the cobblestone street.

Walking towards Erebor Harry was determent that he would not need another pair of shoes before these fell apart around his feet. He didn't even want to think about how dwarves in Erebor had shoes fitted by the shoemaker.

::::::::::

They were so close to the gates now he could see two giant stone statues standing guard on either side of the great carved stone entrance. The front gate was an incredible piece of work that showed the dwarves superior skills in working with stone. If it wasn't for his body brimming with energy he would probably think the whole thing was a bit too extravagant. The entrance was flooded with dwarves going in and out of the mountain. When they came closer, Harry couldn't help but notice that people were looking at him.

"Why are they all looking at me? Have I done something wrong again?" Harry whispered.

"Harry, sweet Harry. You are a beautiful new dwarf nobody knows about, everyone will be incredible interested to get to know you better," Bofur explained. "You will do fine as long you remember to be polite and to not accept gifts from strange young men."

"Merlin Bofur, you sound like a worried mother." Harry sighed.

"That is because I'm worried. We will help you in every way we can but we cannot be together with you every hour of the day," Bofur replied. "What's a Merlin?" He added as an afterthought.

"It's a figure of speech, forget it." Harry didn't want to talk anymore. He felt that his voice drew even more attention towards him and he wanted to focus.

They were passing through the gate and as they went by, the guards stationed there all turned their heads to look at the sight walking past them which made Sanix glare at them in anger. Harry ignored the looks he got for he had never before set foot in a dwarven settlement. Did the dwarves in his old world live like this? For if they did, it was no wonder why he or other wizards haven't been allowed into their home for their human hearts would most likely be filled with greed at the sight.

The entrance hall was enormous, the floor structured like a mosaic and the walls were decorated with great skill. The fifty meter high celling was adorned with shining diamonds and stones, but it was nothing compared to the second gate ahead of them. Harry wasn't able to say which kind of metal it was made of but it came together with giant dwarves standing shoulder to shoulder, crossed arms and weapons in hand. It was an inspiring sight. Bifur was suddenly rushing forward and ran into the arms of a man, woman, Harry couldn't really tell.

"That is my cousin's wife Karga, I can imagine that they would want to have some hours to themselves" Bofur explained.

"I have to report back to my department, I will see you both at a later time Bofur, Harry, goodbye." With that, Sanix walked through the second gate and disappeared into the crowd.

"It's just you and me now Bofur, where do we go from here unless you plan to leave as well?" Harry asked.

"We will go to the department for citizens' employment and housing to see if there are any free homes at the moment and to fill out a job application for the Hall of Healing. It shouldn't be too much trouble." Bofur told the raven haired boy.

"Master Bofur, master Bofur. You must come to the shop immediately." A young dwarf without a beard, with brown eyes and hair came running towards them.

"Khîm, what is it?" Bofur questioned the young dwarf. Harry had to jog keep up with them for they were already walking in the direction of what Harry presumed was Bofur's shop.

"It's lord Rorek, he's demanding to see you and only you to make his request for a gift for his daughter's birthday. It would be a big opportunity for us so I knew I had to find you."

"You did right Khîm I will go there but you will have to lead Harry to the department for citizens' employment and housing. I'm so sorry to leave you Harry but this is an important business deal I cannot miss." Bofur apologised. With that, he too went off and Harry stood alone with a now very quiet and red face dwarf.

"I'm Harry, son of James, it's good to meet you. I would be very happy if you were to be so kind to show me the way for I don't know my way around this mountain yet," Harry grinned at this new dwarf. "Oh, and please call me Harry, I want us to be friends," Harry added as an afterthought.

Khîm was a bubbling mess but after some time he stopped stuttering enough to have a decent conversation with Harry. He was a sweet boy, probably around Harry's own age but Harry felt much older which he was sure had something to do with his life as a human. Khîm was happy to work under Bofur and Bifur to become a toymaker. He was talking none stop about his work in the shop. He wanted Harry to come and visit him when he was settled but only if Harry wanted, of course.

They had wandered through black marble like halls for some time now before Khîm stopped beside a large half open door.

"I will wait out here for you while you settle your business I don't mind waiting for you, I wouldn't want you to get lost." Khîm offered.

"Thank you Khîm, I will try to be done as fast as I can."

Harry easily walked through the half open door into what looked like a more crowded Gringott's. The only other notable difference was that it was dwarves sitting in the high booths stationed around the room instead of goblins. Harry hoped that these dwarves were nothing like the goblins but he had his doubts. They sat in the same manner behind their high booths filled with stacks of papers wearing grim expressions, emitting an air of self-importance.

Getting in line, Harry really hoped he was wrong about these dwarves. While waiting Harry felt more than one person try to make eye contact with him but he kept looking ahead. Thankfully nobody came up to talk to him for he wouldn't know how to deal with it now.

"Next."

The clerk was a robust dwarven woman, dark beard and all. Harry stepped forward and she looked down on him from behind her big nose with her dark eyes.

"What do you want?" She barked at Harry.

No, this was nothing like Gringott's at all. The goblins would snare at your back from time to time but they were polite which couldn't be said about the bearded lady in front of him.

"Hello, I have come here because I need assistance in getting a home and I have heard that you can help me in that regard. Second, I want to apply for a job in the Hall of Healing so I would ask if you could hand me and application form."

"Hnn, do you really think that I will just give you a home when there are hundreds of other dwarves who are in need of one as well? Maybe you do not think about the other dwarves here in mountain because you usually get what you want, don't you pretty face?"

"What no, that is not true I.. "

"What is the problem anyway? I cannot imagine that you would have a hard time finding a place to sleep. Come again when you decide to not waste my time, next." The female dwarf interrupted, calling to the next person in line.

"NO. Now you just wait a moment I have done nothing to deserve this kind of treatment and I will pretend I didn't hear you say all those horrible things about me since I do need some help from you. I can understand if there isn't any home ready for me at the moment but I wish to get in line and contacted when the opportunity arise. Also I wish to apply for work in the Hall of Healing."

"Mahal you are an annoying little twig but I suppose the fastest way to be rid of you is to deal with this as quickly as possible." She huffed, turning to the left to run through a stack of papers, facing him again when she had found the right forms.

"Here, you have to fill these out with your information and deliver them over at the office in the back. Then we will contact you when we have something open for you to move into. Now for your work application I will have to see papers from your medical education. " She stuck out her hand, her face pinched with impatient.

"I do not have those papers you are asking for but I have worked as a healer for many years. Can it not be done without those?"

"What do you think, quit wasting my time." She scoffed.

"Will it be possible for me to go through my medical education again to get those papers?" Harry asked. The bearded lady turned to the paper stack on her left again.

"You will have to find someone in the Hall of Healing who would take you as an apprentice. Here is the application form," She pushed the paper over to Harry, "You can leave it at the same office in the back of the hall. I do believe that was all, NEXT."

Overjoyed to get away from that horrid women Harry walked towards the free tables in the middle of the room. He hated paperwork but it didn't look like it would be too much trouble. Having put the papers down on the table he looked around for a pen but none was found.

"Excuse me."

Harry turned around to face the deep voice and was face by a pair of wine red eyes. Harry stood before a very handsome dwarf with long black hair and beard. The beard was plaited together in a complicated pattern that went all the way down to his breast and his hair was pulled into a low ponytail filled with rubies to match his eyes. He wore black clothes that showed off his broad, strong body. All of his fingers held golden rings with diamonds and in his outstretched hand he held a silver quill with tiny white stones around the edge of the feather.

"It looks like you could use one of these. I will give you this, as a gift."


	4. Chapter 4

**Note**

I'm so sorry about the long wait, please forgive me!  
>Also, the response to this story has really blown me away and I did not expect this at all when I first started writing. I appreciate the support so much!<p>

* * *

><p>Throughout his life, Harry had been called many things: courageous, reckless, kind, stupid but he had never been naïve, no matter what others had been let to believe. His childhood had been anything but a walk in the park and he had learned quickly that actions bore consequences, nothing came the easy way. He would not say that he was grateful for his upbringing at the Dursley's but at least he had been prepared for the price of becoming a wizard. You see, Harry had learned from a young age that you couldn't have food unless you worked for it. Becoming a wizard at the age of eleven he had instantly known that having magic wouldn't be for free and he had spent many years compensating for it by dealing with Voldemort. Call it wrong but Harry felt he had to give something back for having friends, for going to Hogwarts, and for having magic. After having finished his education as a healer he had come to terms with his unjust situation but chose not to dwell on the past for he was proud of the person he had become.<p>

Looking at the quill in the jewel inlayed hand he knew that he couldn't take it. After having been warned by Sanix, Bifur and Bofur time and time again not to take any gifts from strangers, he just knew, he wouldn't be willing to pay the price that came with the gift. For all he knew he could owe the red eyed man a favour, be in his debt until a wish had been fulfilled, or the quill could be enchanted, leaving him to the cruel fate of servitude or torture. Maybe he was being a tad overdramatic for it could just turn out to be a kind gesture, but the forewarning from his three new friends wouldn't leave his mind, making his arm hang beside him.

The unique wine red eyes didn't leave his form not even to look at the crowd of people, whom Harry now noticed had gathered around them. The stranger's eyes were calm. It was as if he had already foreseen the outcome of his offer and was now only waiting for Harry's acceptance. If the stranger's clothes and jewellery hadn't been a big enough hint about the man's status, then this act of arrogance could only strengthen that claim. He was an important, well known man and Harry wouldn't do well by being rude or insulting a dwarf of high standing on his first day in Erebor. The only problem was how to go about this when he had no idea how to handle the situation.

Harry parted his lips slightly to make some kind of refusal but the words got stuck in his throat at the swift flash of desire clouded in the red eyes. Desire. Was this some kind of sexual favour? Maybe even a courtship proposal? It wasn't unheard of in the wizard world that gifts were exchange between the courting couple. If this was the case he couldn't believe the cheek of this dwarf! How could he come up to Harry like that, offering to buy sexual favours or offer a courtship without introducing himself or asking for Harry's name first, the nerve.

"I couldn't possibly accept this beautiful gift from a complete stranger." Wide red eyes beheld him and Harry only smiled in return as he stepped forward and lightly took the quill out of the bigger hand. "But I can see that you are a kind noble man who would help me, a newcomer, by letting me borrow your quill for a few minutes. I promise that you shall have your quill back in the same state by the end of this ordeal."

With the quill in hand, Harry turned around to his small stack of papers on the table. Skimming through the content on the first page he hoped to finish in record time so he could return the quill and get out of here. No such luck. He could feel the stranger's heat as he came up to stand directly behind him, feel the red eyes on his body. Harry ignored him for now and pretended to do his business by writing down the few pieces of information he could about himself, which weren't all that much. He needed help for several reasons. The first problem was that he had to write the year of his birth, which was impossible seeing as he didn't even know what the year was now. Second, he had to state an address so the departments could contact him when news of a free home or job position was open. He didn't for the life of him know where Bofur and Bifur lived. Maybe he could just write `Bofur's toystore´ but he wouldn't take the chance, he had to be sure that he would receive his mail.

Being unable to get anymore work done Harry folded his papers in half and turned around, hoping to make his escape. His eyes were immediately captured by red. Escape would seem difficult for he was cornered, with the table desk at his back, by the strong figure ahead. Harry wouldn't be intimidated; His eyes didn't wave nor did his form draw back. No, he stood strong.

Trying to act like everything was in perfect order, Harry broke the silence. "Thank you for letting me borrow your quill. Here it is, as I promised" Harry said while holding out the beautiful silver quill. Big, thick fingers brushed against his as they took the silver object from Harry's hand and Harry heard the deep voice of the stranger once more as he spoke;

"You may borrow, take or ask of anything you want from me, abnâmul. I'm Ralec son of Reivic at your service."

Harry's still slightly outstretched hand was touched once again by the same fingers that seconds ago had taken the quill from their gasp. Ralec held his hand lightly and then right before Harry's eyes he bowed down to place a kiss right over his knuckles.

Ralec lips lingered only a short moment on the skin of Harry's hand. His red eyes found green and his voice filled Harry's ears; "I want nothing more than to be familiar with you, please tell me your name?" Ralec took a step back to give Harry more space, to Harry's comfort, before he once more stood at his full height.

It all happened so fast. The stranger had just called Harry beautiful, then kissed his hand. He was now certain that, this, Ralec wanted to be more than just helpful.

"I'm Harry son of James. It was nice to meet you Ralec but I must be going." With that said Harry stepped around Relac, going toward the door where Khîm would be waiting outside in the hall. He was stopped by the light grip around his left wrist.

"Harry," Ralec spoke "I'm sorry if I have scared you with my unorthodox behaviour. I know that it was unbecoming of me to establish my interest so suddenly without introduction. But in my defence I must say that I have never met one other like you, you blew my sense away."

Harry had met many liars in his life and he could not detect any falseness in Ralec's apology, he truly regretted his behaviour towards him. It would even appear that Relac's action didn't fall in favour of any strange dwarven traditions either.

"Your further refusal of my gift was unexpected as was your action towards my showing interest in you. You do not seem interested in my company Harry and I must say that I find it refreshing," Ralec kept eye contact, his voice becoming deeper with each word he spoke, "And exciting."

"I accept your apology for I can see that you are sincere but beyond that I don't know what to say." Harry answered, adverting his eyes to the side while his hand automatically came up to rub the back of his neck in nervousness. Instead of meeting his bare neck Harry's hand came into contact with his soft long hair. His fingers wandered through the length of his hair in wonder, still not used to its presence. He looked to Ralec again to explain further; "I have only just arrived to Erebor today and came here to settle things. To be completely honest I'm unfamiliar with the way of dwarves. I woke up yesterday, unable to remember anything from before in my life." Harry figured that it was best to feign amnesia. This way he wouldn't have to answer questions about his life before waking up outside Mirkwood, preventing him from lying even more.

Ralec's dark eyebrows came together, his exspession worried. He stepped towards Harry, maybe to get some form of privacy from the still watching crowd around them, as he spoke. "I'm sorry to hear that, you must have a lot of unanswered questions. I want you to know that you can ask me for help if you are in need of it."

"You're being awfully kind towards me Ralec. I wonder if you show such hospitality towards every new face here in Erebor?" Harry couldn't help but let the scepticism in his voice show and he was sure Ralec heard it to when he gave Harry a sharp smile and replied.

"I will admit that I'm doing this for my own selfish reason, abnâmul," His gaze shifted to the papers in Harry's hand, "If you are looking for a home here in this mountain I happen to have two places of residence, I would be willing to let you live in any of them. We can go take a look on them now and you can choose the one you like the best."

Harry cursed himself for the light blush he felt creep up his cheeks. He would admit that he found Ralec quite charming, his voice, the upturn of his soft looking lips. God, Harry would confess that it had been years since he had received flattery like this and the attention from Ralec was getting to him. That being said he wouldn't jump into Relac's big, strong looking arms, but he was flattered.

"It's a tempting offer," Harry replied while daring to take a little step closer. "But, I'll have to meet up with my friends now and talk it over with them first before I make any decision."

"I'll respect that. I will be willing to meet up with you tomorrow at the entrance hall, where you can tell me of your decision."

"That would be acceptable. When should I meet you?" Harry asked.

"Well," Ralec mused, taking Harry's hand to place it over his right arm, steering him through the crowd of stunned dwarves, towards the exit. "I wouldn't mind spending the whole day with you tomorrow but unfortunately I'm to attend a meeting around midday. I would prefer we meet up a little after dawn."

When they passed through the big doors into the sleek black marble like halls, Relac lead them to a stop. He took Harry's hand in his, bowed once more to lay a kiss to the back of his hand, and said; "I'm afraid this is where I have to part from you now Harry. I'll see you again in the morrow." He then gave Harry a final big smile and turned to go down the left side of the corridor.

Harry only had to turn to the other half of the corridor to see a stunned Khîm. "Was that Lord Ralec you were just speaking with, Harry?" He asked shocked, looking over Harry's shoulder to glimpse at Ralec's still retreating figure.

"Lord? Well I guess I was. Why, do you know him?"

"Know him?" Khîm said disbelievingly. "His family owns most of the mithril mines in Moira, of course I know him, everyone does. What were you and he talking about just now?"

Harry couldn't put his finger on it but Khîm seemed rather down for some reason. When Harry had left him Khîm had been smiling but now he bore this sullen expression on his face. It reminded him of the look that would cross Ron's face whenever he would see Malfoy in the corridor at Hogwarts.

"I meet him by accident. We were just talking a bit and he offered to help me get settled here in Erebor." Harry answered the young dwarf. "I don't see what all the fuss is about. We had a huge crowd of people staring at us and now you're acting weird. I get that Ralec is an important figure but he is still just a man, you shouldn't treat him any differently than anyone else."

Now Khîm was nervously twisting his fingers looking everywhere but at Harry and Harry was suddenly feeling tired and hungry. "Can't we just forget about the whole thing?" He asked Khîm. "I'm sorry it took me so long and that you had to wait for me all this time."

"Oh no, you must not think that I'm angry at you Harry." Khîm exclaimed.

"That is good to know," Harry quickly assured the young dwarf, "I also consider you to be one of my very first friends in this mountain."

"Friends?" Khîm asked, the two red dots on his cheeks were adorable, making him appear even younger and led Harry to laughter.

"Well of course," he said after his laughter had died down. "Now will you show me the way to Bofur and Bifur's house, I'm getting quite hungry?"

And so Harry followed a happy Khîm the rest of the way to the cousin's house.

::::::::::

The house, if you could call it that, was lovely. It was part of the mountain like all the other great halls, built in the very fundament they live in. None the less it was a home with old solid furniture, the smell of food wafting through every room and the presence of the people who live here. Harry wanted nothing more than to set his boots by the door and let his feet sink into the many different carpets littering over the floor.

For some reason he combined relaxation with the state of having no shoes on. When he had worked as healer he could only finally relax when he came home from work, took off his shoes and then he could proceed to make dinner, read a book, take a shower, and go to bed in peace. It would be difficult for him to get used to wearing shoes all the time now.

He stood in, what he would guess to be, the family's living room. It was a quarter of the home where the family could sit together in the afternoons. To the right side stood two brown mismatched couches facing each other with a low iron table between. There were also two different armchairs, one red, the other brown, which stood facing away from the fireplace, in the back wall, towards the couches and the centre of the room. The fireplace would warm the whole family in the cosy area and the fire would be lighted by the wooden blocks and coals in the metal basket in the corner. The room was bathed in the light from the small oil-lamps throughout the room and though Harry couldn't see a single picture on the black walls they were decorated by engraved patterns.

Bifur's head poked out from one of the two doorways in the left side of the living room. He must have heard the door open when Harry came in.

"Thank Mahal, its Harry." Bifur called back over his shoulder to the other occupants behind him. Then the dwarf's smiling face turned back to address him; "We were starting to wonder if you had been kidnapped. Where did you leave young Khîm?"

"We parted outside, he said he had to hurry home. Really Bifur, Kidnapped?"

"Well I wouldn't put it past some old possessive lord to grab you and stuff you into his deep pockets. Come in and meet the rest of the family."

He followed Bifur into the Kitchen and dining room where the biggest dwarf Harry had ever seen was placing pots of hot steaming food on the cream-colored stone table. "Harry I want you to meet my cousin Bombur," Bifur said and gestured toward the larger dwarf, "and my beautiful wife Karga" Bifur walked towards the other unknown smiling individual in the room whom had to be Bifur's wife. She had orange coloured curly hair and beard and shiny blue, sliver eyes. He would admit that he had mixed feelings about women with full grown beards but it was easy to see that she was a woman. She was big busted, had big hips, and her face bore an expression of kindness.

After introductions were done they sat down to dig into the feast of meat pies, spareribs, and meat stew Bombur had prepared for them. Normally Bombur would still be at work but today he had taken a day off to welcome his brother and cousin home.

Bombur was abnormally shy around him. When Bifur introduced him he glanced towards the ground like a man who hoped the ground would open and swallow him whole. When Bombur took the initiative to talk to Harry over dinner he would fight to find the right words, which resulted in stutter. Bofur took far too much delight in his brother's nervousness and Harry had to shoot him more than one glare. Neville had also been horribly shy during his first years at Hogwarts, but he was also uncommonly kind hearted and he could see that Bombur shared this trait with his old school comrade.

It seemed that Bofur and Bifur had already explained Harry's circumstances to Karga and Bombur. Bombur would be more than happy to have him help in the royal's kitchen when Harry had expressed his joy for cooking to the family. Harry was delighted by the opportunity and they agreed that he would help out while he waited for a chance to work at the Hall of Healing.

Karga was a calm woman who possessed deep patience and understanding. Mrs. Weasley would have grown grey hairs if she saw the bad table manners here but Karga didn't even blink. She handled the men's bad habits well but then again she worked as a teacher. All young dwarrows were expected to learn how to read, write and calculate but they would mostly be taught at home by their parents. Karga taught the children of the lords and ladies of the court and he could very well imagine that it would take patience to do so.

"Would you be up for a small shopping trip Harry? You really do need some extra clothes and I have some free time after school tomorrow." Karga asked him over the smooth dining table.

"Actually," he said gald that he could bring this up. "I'm to meet with Ralec son of Reivic in the morrow but I'm free to meet with you later in the day."

Bofur spurted "What? Lord Ralec. How did you come by him?"

"After I had received the application formulas from that, excuse my language, horrid teller lady, I wanted to file them out and get away from the staring crowd as quickly as possible." He knew that he was rambling by the stunned open-mounted expressions that greeted his explanation. But he continued his story anyway about what happened between Ralec and him. "Also, I still haven't filled the papers out completely, could you help me with that later?"

"He offered you to choose one of his residences to live in, at what price?" Karga asked excitedly.

"He wanted to know more about me and I told him there wasn't much to know. He didn't say anything about the price for renting one of his homes and I didn't think to ask. Would it even be acceptable for me to agree to such an offer?"

"It would be acceptable but you cannot live there for free."

"For that would be the same as accepting a gift, wouldn't it?" Harry interrupted Bofur.

Then they proceed to explain what he could and couldn't accept as the price for renting Ralec's home. It would be shameful to pay to little but he couldn't pay him to much either since he where currently unemployed and even as a helper in the kitchen or as a healer's apprentice he wouldn't have a large salary. If he chose to receive a gift, be it a quill, a tissue, jewellery or a palace, he would accept the suitor's advances and they would then enter a period of courtship. A courtship wasn't a biding deal but even then one shouldn't enter one lightly. Harry could of course enter a courtship with Ralec and get to know him though the courting period. There was no time limit and the couple could choose to court each other for years before they reached a decision for marriage or break up.

"Harry, can I ask you how Khîm reacted to the presence of lord Ralec?" Bofur asked curiously.

Harry's hand lowered the fork with food and he turned his attention to Bofur; "They didn't really meet, Khîm was waiting for me out in the hall and he only saw us when we stepped out to go our separate way. But when I talked to him afterwards he seemed very upset."

"I'm sure he did," Bofur examined, "I just want you to remember that Khîm is very young and he can be a bit rash, don't be mad at him. When he saw you together with lord Ralec; a man of wealth, charisma, looks, with all the pretty dwarrowdams after him, he thought that we would be history to you."

Harry smiled and replayed; "Khîm will learn that money doesn't appeal to me. He doesn't know me very well yet but I want us to be friends and some rich lord could never make me forget my friends."

After dinner was done and every plate was cleaned Karga and Bifur took the half sleeping Bombur out of his chair and bid Harry and Bofur goodnight.

He stood to make them a small cup of tea while Bofur went through the papers.

"What do you make of it?" He asked, taking a seat besides Bofur and placing a little cup next to his friend while sipping of his own tea.

"It's typical of the government to make everything so damn fancy and proper. When I applied for my job as a wood craver's apprentice some years ago there was only one piece of paper, and look, now there is three. Bofur replayed, shaking his hat covered head.

"But luckily this is easily solved." He said scribbling down his address which appeared to be a large sum of numbers, go figure. Then they discussed Harry's birthdate. It was currently year 2791 and if Harry was or wanted to be 120 years old he would be born in year 2671, which was fine by him.

With the paperwork done Harry knew that he could deliver them both tomorrow if he didn't reach an agreement with Ralec.

Turning the lights off, Bofur showed him through the second door from the living room down a corridor. They had one bathroom by the end of the hall and four bedrooms. The bedroom first to the left would be Harry's for the time being.

"Goodnight Bofur" Harry bid the smiling dwarf farewell and went through the wooden door into his temporary room.

The room was of the same dark marble like material. It was equipped with a metal framed bed, a chair with a small stone table, a rack for clothes, and a big cobber chest with two oil-lamps on top for light.

Harry dropped his tunic, pants, and shoes without any thoughts of weird customs to uphold. He turned off the lights and crawled under the duvet, letting the darkness surround him.

The first tears escaped him unwillingly but then he let them flow freely. He had lost all that he knew and loved most in the world. He was grateful for meeting this wonderful family of dwarrows, who took him in, gave him food, and sheltered him but for tonight he would mourn his loss. Tomorrow would bring a new day.


End file.
